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Thursday, 1 August 2013

They say 'she's in the Class A Team', stuck in her daydream; been this way since eighteen...

My heart is going nuts right now. I don’t
know why this is so scary, but it is! But I promised myself that I would suck
it up and be brave, so here it is: my first actual story to be posted on my
blog. I wrote this last year as part of a competition held by the Gold Coast Writers' Association. I didn’t place, but I was shortlisted (yay!) and ‘published’
in a free eBook downloadable from their website. It isn’t much, but it’s a
start…The theme was 'Finding Gold On The Coast', which my brain translated into 'homeless prostitute'. Makes sense, yeah?

Okay now I’m just stalling. Here it is…Eeep. Enjoy, or something…

TITLE LYRICS: 'A Team' by Ed Sheeran

This was partly inspired by the song, so thank you, Ed :)

AUGUSTThe
wind stings her eyes, making them weep as soon as she opens them. She shivers,
adjusting the old, thin blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She stifles a
yawn, fingering the gold locket hanging from her neck.

“Hey,”
she whispers, unlocking her arm from the around the small bundle curled in her
lap. “Emmy. Time to wake up.”

The
small bundle stirs and shifts.

“Auggy?”

“No,
it’s the Easter Bunny. Who do you think it is, silly?” She smiles
affectionately as her little sister rises from the park bench that has served
as their bed for yet another night.

“If
you were really the Easter Bunny, you’d have chocolate,” Emmy grumbles,
stretching out her tiny, seven year old limbs. August’s heart sinks as she
watches. She’d tried to find them a proper bed, but places in the shelters are
limited and there are only so many times a girl can hear I’m sorry, no space
tonight before she wants to scream.

“Auggy?” Emmy’s voice brings her back to the
present and she blinks, pushing the thoughts away. “I’m hungry.”

“Alright,
kiddo,” she says, forcing her lips into a smile. “Let’s find you something to
eat.” She stands, stuffing the blanket into her backpack. Emmy reaches for her
expectantly.

“Hurry,
Auggy. I have to pee.”

“Alright,”
she says, taking Emmy’s hand. “Come on.” She takes a few steps before looking
back at the bench, giving it a customary final glance. They can’t afford to
leave anything behind.

“Auuuuggeee,”
Emmy says, wriggling impatiently. “I have to peeeeee.”

“Okay,
okay,” she says, turning towards the buildings on the other side of the road.
“Let’s go find you a bathroom.”

*
* *

“Our
bathrooms are for paying customers only.” The man at the petrol station licks
his lips, looking at her apologetically. She takes a slow breath in, flashing
her most seductive smile. She knows how this game works.

“Please,”
she purrs, leaning towards him. “My sister really needs to go. We’ll be quick,
promise. I’ll even buy her a candy bar.” She tucks a strand of hair behind her
ear, looking up at him and coyly twirling her locket between her fingers. It
has the desired effect and he clears his throat, fumbling under the counter.

“S’pose
it can’t hurt,” he says, smiling as he hands her the key. Their fingers brush
and she widens her smile, allowing her hand to linger on his for a few moments.
She tries not to think about how this kind of interaction has become second
nature.

“Thank you,” she breathes, curling her
fingers around the key. He swallows. She turns and rolls her eyes discretely at
Emmy, who stifles a giggle.

“Come
on, kid,” she says, taking Emmy’s hand. “Let’s go pee.”

*
* *

“How
do you do that?” Emmy asks once they’re inside the bathroom.

“Do
what?” She turns on the tap and a stream of ice cold water fills the dirty,
chipped basin. She bites her lip, psyching herself up.

“Make
people do something after they’ve already said no. No, not people… boys.”
Emmy giggles as she says the last word, flushing the toilet and coming out of
the stall. “Boys do whatever you say.”

“They
do not,” she says dismissively, examining herself in the mirror. The shadows
under her eyes are darker than yesterday.

“Yes
they do,” Emmy says, watching from against the wall. “And sometimes they give
you money. I’ve seen them.”

“You
don’t know what you’ve seen.” She dips her head under the faucet, wetting her
hair. The cold steals oxygen from her lungs and she tightens her jaw, staying
there for as long as she can. It isn’t long. “God I hate doing that,” she
mumbles, switching off the tap. Freezing rivers trickle down her back, making
her shiver.

“Me
too,” Emmy agrees, still watching. “I like it when we have a real shower with
warm water.”

The
innocent comment chills her far more than the icy water dripping down her spine
and she says nothing, searching through her backpack for her comb.

“Here,” she says, handing Emmy a toothbrush and a
spent tube of toothpaste. “Brush your teeth.”

“There’s
no toothpaste left.”

“Yes
there is; just squeeze real hard.”

“I
can’t!”

“Fine.
Give it.” She takes the tube away, squeezing a small glob of blue paste onto
the frayed bristles. “Brush them properly. No one likes a kid with stinky
breath.”

*
* *

“I
could get in trouble for letting you use the bathroom like a dressing room,”
the man says wryly when they emerge fifteen minutes later.

“Sorry,”
August says, handing him the key. “Road trip. You know how it is.”

The
man blinks, looking her up and down. His eyes trace the ladders in her
stockings. She tries to ignore it.

“Road
trip. Right.”

She
offers a thin smile and turns to leave. She recognises the look he is giving
her.

“Wait,”
Emmy says, tugging her hand. “You promised me a candy bar.”

“That’s
right,” the man says, straightening up. “You said you’d buy something.” Bile
rises in her throat and she swallows, glancing down at Emmy.

“Sure,
Em. Choose something real quick.”

Emmy gives a delighted squeal and races to the
chocolate isle. August tries to pretend she can’t feel the man’s eyes on her.

“Aren’t
you getting something for yourself?” the man asks, still smiling. The joints in
her neck stiffen, making it hard to shake her head.

“Not
hungry. How much is it?”

“Five
fifty.”

She
drops the money on the counter, not even caring that the single chocolate bar
is costing more than their food budget for an entire day. The man closes his
fingers around hers as she tries to take it.

“You
know,” he says quietly, leaning in. “I’d be willing to… You know. Help out. If
you need money.” He grins and her heart skips a beat,

lurching into her throat. For one brief moment
she imagines slapping him, imagines telling him to go ‘help’ himself.
For one brief moment, she imagines having other options.

The
moment passes.

“Emmy,”
she says, handing her the chocolate. “Why don’t you eat this in the bathroom? I
need to talk to this nice man for a minute.”

The
eager look falls from Emmy’s face.

“No.
I don’t want to.”

August
turns to face her, cementing a smile on her face. “It’s okay, kid. I’ll be
there soon. Lock yourself in, okay? Wait for me.”

August
crouches to her level, meeting her gaze. “It’s okay, kiddo,” she repeats
evenly, fingering her locket. “I’ll just be a minute.”

“Just
a minute?” Emmy repeats doubtfully.

“Just
a minute. Promise.”

Emmy
nods and takes the chocolate and the key, shuffling towards the bathroom.
August takes a deep breath and turns towards the man, clutching her locket hard
enough to cause pain. The day Emmy found it on the beach flashes in her mind.

“Auggy!”
she’d called, running towards her. “I found
gold!”

She
leaves her body behind, allowing the memory of that day to take her away from
the overwhelming petrol fumes in the back room. Emmy had been convinced it
belonged to pirates, so they’d spent hours searching for the rest of the
treasure chest, goofing around and digging

their way across the beach. It was the best day
they’d had since... everything happened.